Stay With Me Unlikely
by xXBleachedSpartanXx
Summary: Evil' Ryu has been on the run for several months, but the other Street Fighters are on his trail. Sakura's the closest in the chase, and she has a bone to pick with the World Warrior. Please review. Flames accepted. Chapter Two is available.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I sure as heck don't own Street Fighter, or the characters within it. Please don't sue.

The chase had been going on for a good fifteen minutes straight. The two beings were sifting through forest as though the various trees, rock formations, and other fallen debris were not an obstacle in their path. One was clearly faster than the other, but in random spurts of speed, the figure behind would be less than a few feet behind, only for the leading person to gain another advantage and be away from arms length once again.

Sakura's breathing was hoarse and erratic. She never ran so much in her short life, even though she had been in her high school track team for a brief time. She prided herself to be one of the quickest people she knew, and amongst the fastest Street Fighters in the circuit. But, to see her target a good couple yards ahead, moving through the atmosphere with a grace she could never hope to achieve, she felt at a loss. She couldn't give up though.

She had to catch up to Ryu. Even if it killed her.

"Ryu-san! Chotto matte, kudasai! (Ryu, please wait!)"

She barely spat those words out between her short breaths as she ducked and spun around to narrowly miss the hanging limb of an old oak tree. She noticed Ryu's form still advancing forward, and she could not tell if he had heard her and ignored her plea, or maybe her words did not reach him.

Her thinly soled Converses were not the best footwear to have on when running on unturned earth and leaves, and she found herself sliding a bit every so often, but it didn't slow her down as much as it should have.

She shivered as she felt Ryu's chi take a turn for the worst. It felt like she was nearing an inferno, and she had to blink several times to keep her eyes from drying out from the intense heat. When she reopened her eyes a fraction of a second later, she held in a gasp at the sight before her.

Ryu's back had an kanji emblazed in the coal black gi he wore, and it pulsated an unnatural burgundy. His form was shrouded in a shadowy blaze of what Sakura had come to call Satsui no Hadou. His chi signature had done a complete 360, and gave the automatic feeling of being burned alive. Ryu did not even turn his head as this took place, merely continuing to evade Sakura.

His speed had suddenly increased tenfold, and he seemed to be almost gliding on one foot, the other lifted off the floor and bent at the knee. Sakura recognized the motion as Ashura Warping, and as soon as he began to enlarge the distance between the two of them by moving on ahead, she cursed loudly.

She kept moving, realizing that her words were not reaching him in the state that he was in. She was seething with anger and despair inside. Why was he making this so difficult! She just wanted to help him, or at least speak to him. He had pushed away all of his friends away when he embraced the dark energies within him. He thought it was in everyone's best interest if he left them. Sakura wanted to shake him out of this train of thought and bring him back to the reality that no one was at ease with Ryu destroying himself and his future with every fight he engaged in when he was in this state.

'_There's no way you can catch up to him now. Not like this. You have to reach him, at all costs. You know what that means,'_ a small voice echoed in Sakura's head. Sakura completely stopped as she absorbed the words spoken to her by a mysterious force. It was right. She was going to lose him again. That realization hit even harder than any punch she had ever received as she saw Ryu's form almost disappear from her line of vision. She knew that there was only one way to catch up to him. Only one way to get his attention.

A lone tear fell from her eye and was taken in by the soil on the ground below. She had shed so many tears for Ryu in these past months. She missed him, and felt other feelings for him that she never had a chance to establish what they were. She was going to bring him back so that she could. She was going to bring him back so that everything would be alright again.

'_Whatever it takes, Sakura.'_ The voice was now a booming echo of her own speaking voice. It was reminding her that she had no choice at this moment. Sakura stood there silently, slowly shutting herself down like a distressed computer. She lowered her arms to her sides and bowed her head down. If you listened closely, you would have heard a small, agonizing whisper.

"**Please don't go."**

As the words left her mouth, her form began to vibrate amongst the dried leaves and trees around her. Her skin began to take a dark tannish hue, and it encompassed her alabaster skin like a fast forming rash.

In the timespan of a couple of seconds, Ryu felt a change in the normal chi signature that he sensed trailing behind him. It was big enough of a change to have him slow down and come to a complete stop to turn around. He could have sworn on Buddha that he felt energy akin to his own just wash over Sakura's calm waves of Hadou like a tidalwave. When he turned around, he saw no Sakura. The small recesses of his conscience set an alarm of worry as his blood red eyes scanned the area. Where was she? What happened? Was she attacked when he wasn't looking? By who?

His questions were answered when he looked up suddenly, stunned that he had not realized that there was a being falling from the sky, torpedoing down through the tree branches towards him at a speed he could not evade this late in the attack. He rose his hands in a defensive stance, and braced his entire body just in time for the incoming force to drive him into the ground, causing a rippling shockwave of energy as the two collided at the fists. The impact caused a depression in the ground that resembled a mini Grand Canyon, and trees collapsed as their roots, which were nestled deep underground, were unearthed and unsheltered. The soil from the ground flew into the air and shrouded the two fighters in a cloud of dirt, only to fall to the ground again a second later.

Ryu's pupil-less eyes widened as he met face-to-face with the opposing force that attacked him. He took in Sakura's appearance in split seconds from her now coal black and white schoolgirl uniform, the black sash was tied tightly on her forehead and the tails that billowed behind her from her movement. Her skin was a deeper hue than his own, now resembling the pigment of a chocolate color, with red undertones. Her eyes were pupil-less as well, and were black as oil, wide yet without expression, and glossy as polished glass. He inwardly shuddered as she stared into her eyes for the first time, only to see no shadow of her former, bubbly self.

She derailed his train of thought abruptly as she shifted her weight to her legs, that had fallen to the ground with a soft thud, only to contort her body swiftly moments after and spin in a hurricane kick that she had directed to his torso. She was about a foot or two off the ground from the chi she gathered to perform the move, and had Ryu not blocked, he would have been in the air as well. Instead, he was merely pushed backward, his feet skidding into the tossed soil below. Ryu lowered his blocking arms to his waist and easily blocked the intended hit, but he could feel a strong force in the attack that he had never imagined Sakura could muster. The series of kicks were not even her normal sloppy attempt of recreating the hurricane kick that he and Ken used. They were full, unabashed force in the form of a hurricane kick he had only seen performed this way by Akuma.

Ryu repelled Sakura as soon as her move finished, distancing himself from her briefly. As he did so, he took note that the swirling flames that encompassed him seemed as though they licked at her form viciously, battling the black chi that was already enveloping her. This was not the ideal situation for him. He did not want to fight Sakura, though the Satsui no Hadou was reacting to her strangely, almost as if it was welcoming the challenge. Ryu's conscience, while it was still barely intact, pressed him to flee to avoid attacking Sakura. He couldn't harm her.

"Don't you dare leave me again."

Ryu stared down at the girl before him with unblinking eyes as the words left her lips. They were spoken in a guttural voice that could not have come from the sweet young woman he came to know. He was still having trouble grasping the fact that the person before him was Sakura in the first place. Since when had she embraced the dark powers? Why would she, after she saw what he turned out like? Even after his warnings?

"Look what you did, Ryu-sama. You made me turn into…this! I had to see what the big deal was about. I had to see why you had to be such a wuss and run out on all of us when you transformed. This is my second time, you know," Sakura spoke in a voice unlike her own, but the tone was condescending and nonchalant. Her eyes were locked with his own, and still, no emotion was emitted from them. No pain. No suffering. No anguish. No rage.

Ryu could not explain why the absence of any emotion coming from her unnerved him so much, but he wished more than anything in the world for her to revert back to her former self.

"…Sakura. Why? Why did you-"

He was interrupted by the girl clicking her tongue in distaste, but her face still remained void of emotion.

"Why? Are you serious? Why **not**?"

She scoffed quietly. Her demeanor was so brazen, and as she spoke, she decided to continue her assault, as she suddenly erupted towards him, swinging her fists with a vigor and precision that she never possessed until now. Ryu dodged and blocked the hits, but he could feel the power from each blow, whether they connected or not. Sakura slipped behind the young man with agility and clutched him in her arms from behind in an awkward headlock. Although she was shorter than Ryu, and used all her weight to hold him from behind., letting her legs dangle above the ground, she began to pull backwards on his skull repeatedly.

She continued to speak in an energetic tone, as though she was gossiping, as she held the struggling man in her grip.

"Everyone else seems to be doing it. I'd be a fool to miss out on the fun. I can perform ten times better than I could before. I feel power coursing through my veins. So what if I go a little crazy and black out between fights? I win, and that's the most important thing, right?"

She put emphasis on the last word as she took her free arm and drove her elbow into his skull in a smashing hit that sent him to his knees. She let go of his form, but had to jump and cartwheel away from him as she recovered quick enough to attempt a low sweeping kick to her ankles. She evaded it with ease and stared at his rising form from a distance. Ryu was regaining his senses and losing the stars that were in his line of vision from the elbow. He shook off the discomfort and returned to a defensive stance, but spoke in a controlled voice.

"No, Sakura. You must not let it consume you. There is no true benefit from utilizing the Satsui no Hadou. You can win from your own strength, without the need to use-"

His words were once again interrupted as Sakura moved forward again, and had teleported up into the atmosphere for an aerial strike. She launched two apple red Hadouken blasts, one from each hand, towards Ryu's stationary form. He made movement to merely step away from them both, but in the moment that he moved, he lost visual of Sakura for a second, only to be pushed forwards by a teleported Sakura into the still incoming blasts. Ryu opted to then block them, which he had little difficulty doing. He righted himself so he was facing the girl again, as to not be surprised once more. When she landed from her leap, she was a good half of a yard away from him. She chose not to attack yet, only to assault him verbally.

"Oh, Ryu-sama. You are such a hypocrite. You should practice what you preach, ne? Oh, I did it for one other reason. You want to know why?" She said in a taunting voice, her stance still in offensive. Ryu's senses were heightened in this state, but he could not help but feel weak at this moment as he fought his pupil. He never meant for this to happen. If he had been a better role model, then she would not have to suffer.

"Tell me, Sakura." Ryu's voice was hoarse and dry as he watched her form intensely.

Sakura paused, not expecting any of her words to reach him. She narrowed her eyes as she looked back to him, matching the intensity of his gaze with one of her own. She spoke a voice that was her own, though it came out in a whisper that she knew would reach his ears.

"…I did it so I wouldn't be left behind again." Ryu blinked, not quite sure what was meant by her words. Sakura decided at that moment to keep the momentum of the fight going, so she struck her fist to his chest, and pushed herself forward, closing the gap. Ryu returned to the defensive, parry or dodging the incoming hits as quick as she was delivering them. As she continued to combine her punches to assault Ryu, she spoke in a fevered pattern, and her face contorted into what Ryu could only describe as pain.

"You left us behind! No note. No warning. Nothing! Whatever quest you were on, I could have helped! What was I supposed to do? When everyone got wind that you were behind the murder of Vega and Balrog, they went into a frenzy. I was the only one who didn't want to imprison you. Even Ken agreed that you needed to be stopped."

Sakura's eyes flashed with an indescribable emotion that Ryu could not place. Suddenly, she clenched her small fists even tighter and erupted with six behemoth punches that he could not parry. Each connection rocked his stiff body backwards, and he was surprised to see that he was still on his feet from the assault. Sakura was panting as though she ran a marathon, and her head was bowed down, and her facial features were shadowed.

"I may have been the only one foolish enough to still believe in you, Satsui no Hadou or not. While they're coming after you to lock you up, I'm chasing your ass for my own reasons. You probably have a good reason for doing what you did with Vega and Balrog, and quite frankly, don't ask, don't tell. I just have one question for you…"

Sakura wrenched her head up in what looked like a painful manner, but the expression on her face displayed emotional pain and anguish that she had kept inside for far too long. Ryu unconsciously took a step back for reasons he knew not. Just seeing her like this made him feel as though the breath was forcefully taken from him. The young woman's aura had almost diminished during her speech, as though she had not fight left in her. Her question was spoken loud enough for his ears only, and with enough emotion to drown an empath.

"**_Why didn't you take me with you?"_**


	2. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer: I don't own Street Fighter or the song by Celldweller on which this fictional piece is named._

_Also, a personal thank you to each reviewer. I feel honored to have even received a review, and by my idol writers as well. Its like Christmas came early. Thank you once again._

_This installment is not my best work, and I may edit it later and repost it, but for now, its something I had to put up to see how it looks. Please enjoy._

The forest grounds had morphed into a damn near desolate plain of destruction and death. Ken, who was leading the rest of fighters that he had gathered in their search, took notice that as he got closer to the two dark chi signatures up in the distance, the forest began to lose its luster and looked broken and demolished. Trees had been completely leveled, leaving more space to see, but also leaving splintered debris. Something else caught Ken's attention, and he glanced up to the sky, and actually paused in his trek. Chun Li and Guile were a bit behind, but were in visual distance of Ken, and they looked to the blonde before following suit to see what was so interesting up above.

Looking through the splintering branches of surrounding trees, at least a hundred birds of assorted species could be seen flying and screeching frantically in the opposite direction of where they were going. It was as if they were fleeing from a powerful predator with all their might. If this one sight was not foreboding enough, the three of them heard sounds of flesh pounding against flesh in the distance that were encouraging enough to make them quicken their pace to their destination.

Up ahead, the fight between Sakura and Ryu had escalated to a higher degree, but it was still evident that Sakura was definitely on the offensive. It took quite a lot more than it should have for Ryu to stay on the defensive and dodge and block each of her blows. Ryu's conscience, what little was left from his transformation and from the conflicting levels of Satsui no Hadou within the vicinity, was still attempting to reason with him that he could not fight with her.

"Why won't you fight back, Ryu-sama? You have all that power that you were willing to forsaken your loved ones for, and now you won't even use it?" Sakura made her point very clear as she glided to the left of him and lowered herself in a crouch to direct a gut-wrenching punch to his abdomen. Ryu matched her speed and blocked silently, and quickly jumped back to avoid confrontation with her.

'_She's asking for it! Fight her! Teach her that Satsui no Hadou is not a plaything. Teach her a lesson she will never forget..'_ Ryu's inner demon was whispering to him, nudging him to take the offensive. He still had the willpower to ignore the nudge and act out of his own accord, but he did not know how long this would last.

"Sakura, I do not want to fight you. I'm sorry to have hurt your feelings, but, please, you must go…" Ryu would have finished his sentence, pleading Sakura to leave before something else unfavorable happened, if he wasn't interrupted by the girl who teleported behind him without his knowledge once again. She had her back to his own, but she had gripped at his wrists and pulled his arms behind him, towards her.

"Ryu-sama. If you are truly sorry…If you want to redeem yourself in my eyes…Then fight me. Fight me here and now, with all your might. Don't you dare hold back. Only then can I forgive you." Her voice was not warped with anger, rage, or pain. It was solemn, yet warm. It was the first time that Sakura had regarded to him in a semi-normal manner.

Ryu understood what it meant to convey words and emotions through fists, and that was the instance in this case. Nothing he said would reach the young woman any closer than his actions. In that instant, he was proud of Sakura. She displayed the action of a young woman and a true warrior.

Sakura knew that she had gotten her point across to the street fighter when she felt him tense up from behind her. Her pupil less eyes narrowed a fraction of an inch as she suddenly boosted herself off the ground, still pulling at Ryu's arms from behind him. She planted her sneakered feet on the small of his back, and was in a crouched position atop his back, still facing in the opposite direction. She was ready to perform one of her throws.

Before she was able to complete the move and flip off of Ryu while kicking him painfully in the spine, Ryu somehow reversed the move by flipping the girl over his head, now positioning her in front of him and on her feet once more. Sakura was caught in complete surprise as she lost grip of his wrists and was sudden held by her small shoulders. A single knee came crashing into her stomach three times before she was pushed backwards. Sakura managed to regain the breath she lost from the move and gained a yard or two of distance from Ryu. She looked up to him and smirked at the serious expression on his face. Something within her was content that he was taking this match seriously, and not brushing her off .

Now, she had another reason to initiate this fight. Not only was she doing this to bring back the young man, but she wanted to prove to him and herself that she was worthy of utilizing and embracing the path of Shotokan.

Sakura took no time to continue her assault, and the real fight commenced.

Ryu, now in an offensive stance, met the fast approaching Sakura with a heavy swing of his right fist in hooked punch. Sakura sidestepped a fraction to the left, but was unprepared by the left jab that struck her in collarbone. She stumbled back, but only slightly, and returned the punch with one, or several, of her own. She rapidly swung both fists, which were haloed with Dark Hadou, in a five hit succession towards Ryu's face, but the warrior easily dodged the incoming attacks, only to grab the young woman's left hand. He pulled her into him, and for a millisecond, the two had froze. The moment, whatever it was, was short lived as Ryu tucked the girl in and flipped forward, still grabbing the phased woman by the arm. He landed on the soil below with his back to the ground, and Sakura atop him for a second before he planted a fierce kick to her stomach, launching her out of his hands and into the air.

Sakura regained her state of being in mid flight and managed to right her feet so she landed correctly when she returned to the ground three seconds later. She shook off the fierce throw with little difficulty and came at Ryu once again, her adrenaline pumping to levels she had never experienced before. Ryu also felt an exhilaration that felt unrivaled as the two tainted fighters exchanged blows that emitted unbridled force and emotion. The two moved about the crumbling forest grounds like they were in a vicious waltz, shifting to the left and right of each other in a synchronized manner, yet still managing to face each other, no matter how many times they teleported about.

Ken sucked in and released as much air as her lungs could allow after running so much. He had his hands to his knees as he lurched forward, exhausted from the pursuit. He was snapped out of his recovery when he was hit with shockwaves of chi and hadou that were at extreme percentages, and the atmosphere warped to something similar to a sweltering inferno. He looked up from the ground and straightened his posture, only to see Ryu and Sakura going at each other's throats with what looked like absolute hostility. Both of their bodies were enveloped in crimson and scarlet waves of Dark Hadou, but it seemed as though their own auras were battling each other as well. Their appearances were hard to determine in specific due to them moving at ridiculous speeds, moving around then colliding with each other at the supersonic velocities. Ken was able to get a clear glimpse both of their backs, which were pulsating with the kanji for 'Heaven' with the same demonic flair.

Ken's jaw dropped as he witnessed the fight between his friend and the younger girl that was like a little sister to him commence. He had seen the two spar countless times, but now, they were fighting as if it were a death match. Ken concentrated his own chi signature, manipulating it to be ready at his command. He was sure that he was the one that had to stop the two before they did something they would regret.

Before Ken could even move in to make himself known to the still combating duo, a vicious snarl rang out and stopped him in his tracks.

"Ken, don't you dare. This is between me and him." Ken would not have believed that came from sweet Sakura unless he hadn't been staring the girl dead in the eye at that moment. She was facing him with eyes as black as onyx, with no pupils in them, and a stone serious expression on her face. Ken almost completely lost his nerve from that alone, but he stood his ground and looked from her to Ryu for a brief moment.

"Sakura, what do you think you're doing! Ryu, you too! Are you crazy? Look, it doesn't have to be this way. Ryu, just come back with us and we'll straighten out everything…"

Ken didn't even sound like he was convincing himself, let alone the two in front of him. Ryu held no emotion on his face, so it was hard to even tell what was going through his mind. Ken would pay half his fortune to know what his best friend was thinking. Sakura, on the other hand, had a weak smile on her face that she allowed Ken to witness briefly, before she turned her back to him. The kanji on her back glared at him menacing, as if it was etched out of glowing blood. Ken had seen this side of both Sakura and Ryu once before, and he was able to talk them out of their states in the past…but, now, it could not be helped. Ken knew that before he even spoke; he knew that talking wouldn't solve the matter effectively. He had hoped, however, that Sakura would not have done something as reckless as attempt to go one-on-one with Ryu, especially in the state of consciousness he was in now. He wanted both of his friends back, preferably intact.

"Ken, we have to do this. You understand, don't you? Please, don't interfere." Even Sakura was surprised the sudden statement from Ryu that came out calm and collected, despite his slightly deeper, fierce tone of voice. Ken felt at a loss as Sakura nodded to Ryu to signal for them to continue before she rushed at him offensively once again. Ryu did not miss a beat as he moved in on her at the last second. Their fists connected with each other at the knuckle and a shockwave of power emitted from that one blow that made Ken slide back involuntarily.

Chun Li and Guile finally caught up to Ken and arrived at the site, only fall into a low crouch to prevent themselves from being blown completely backwards from the shockwave. Chun Li shielded her eyes with one hand while Guile squinted his own eyes to look forward. They were just as surprised to see the two combatants be Ryu and Sakura. Chun Li looked to Ken, who watched the fight continue with a hardened grimace.

"What's going on? We have to stop them!" Chun Li had to elevate her voice so that Ken could hear her over the background sounds of fists and feet connecting with each other harshfully. Even then, the sounds were unearthly, and resembled loud bangs and crunches that should never result from punches and kicks. Ken continued to look on, but answered the woman with a grim tone, giving her the answer she certainly wasn't expecting to hear.

"I don't think there is anyone who could stop them now."

Guile dug his hands into the trunk of one of the few trees that was not demolished and grabbed hold of Chun Li's arm to keep her steady and from flying backwards anymore. The two were still dazed as they watched Ryu and Sakura duke it out fiercely, with no consideration for the destruction they were causing around them.

Ryu had his arms at his side, cradling a large sphere of violet hadou with both his hands. Sakura teleported sporadically, giving him trouble in targeting her. He still released the Shinkuu Hadouken at the position he saw her last, but she teleported moments ago. Sakura phased herself in behind Ryu now that he no longer had the concentrated energy within his hands, and performed another hurricane to his back to eject him directly into the path of the hadouken he had just released. It seemed as though the two were moving at a fraction of the speed they maintained earlier. Ryu swiftly flipped over the ball of chi safely, not about to be the victim of his own attack. Sakura, however, was not done as she teleported once again to Ryu's side once again, bypassing the blast that was still crawling to the right, completely intact. Ryu was ready for the young woman the instant she teleported in front of him, and drilled his right fist into her chin in a shattering uppercut. Sakura was ejected into the air from the technique, but Ryu caught her in a headlock in mid air. He landed on his feet before he made a sprint directly towards the path of the sloth-like Hadouken, the fighter still dazed in his hands. He threw her into the blast, but also dove in with her, and the impact was immense as the searing hot blast energy engulfed both street fighters.

Ryu and Sakura both grunted as they separated from each other in the shockwave, and they both landed to the ground sprawled on the earth about a good four yards away from each other. The area was silent as the onlookers held their breath in anticipation. Ken was hoping the two knocked each other out so they would put a stop to the seemingly senseless battle. Chun Li and Guile both were ready to jump in at a moments notice to restrain the two now that they were thrown off balance from expending their energies.

Ken, Guile, and Chun Li were not ready for what they saw next, however.

Sakura, sprawled on her back, sat up and let out a animalistic growl, her eyes wide and wild with emotion. Ryu had yet to rise, and there was no signs of him even being conscious or even alive. Sakura rose to her feet albeit shakily, and with each trudge towards Ryu, she let out a grunt from the back of her throat. The other three fighters were actually frozen in their spots, stunned at the sheer endurance and power Sakura possessed to have bested Ryu. Sakura practically ignored the onlookers and stood over Ryu, her breathing labored and her burgundy aura flaring sparingly. Whatever she did next would have an impact on everyone present.

**To be Concluded**


End file.
